Waiting on a Dream

A heavy sigh left my lips as I stared longingly out the stone window. My eyes searched the falling and rising hills of the landscape, prayers tumbling through my mind that someone would crest one of those hills. That one of these days, the eternal boredom I had grown accustomed to would end, saved by a Knight on his brilliant steed.

Sadly, today did not seem to be one of those days. Letting my head fall back, only slightly regretting it as it came into contact with the hard wall behind me, I groaned.

They certainly didn’t outline this in the fine print. I recall vaguely the day I entered the shining Knights Hall. The doors opened on their own wind, not a single guard or person standing by them. The dust that had accumulated on my skirts trailed in behind me, following me as I walked down the center of the room. Several officials had turned to look at me, slight grimaces on their face at the dirt I had tracked in. I did the only thing I knew to do. Gave them a beaming smile, having grown numb to their judgements years ago.

They had this program going for several years now, a program to train new Knights. They called it The Path to Knighthood. Turns out when princesses were left in their towers for too long or were eaten by the dragon meant to guard them, it didn’t do well for publicity.

Hence, the program was created to allow new Knights to practice saving princesses, so when the day came, they would know what to do.

There had been an obnoxious amount of paperwork for me to sign, and I’m almost certain that one of them was a waiver in the event I died while doing this, but I hardly remember exactly what it said. I had been too focused on the amount of money I would earn from this, as well as the reputation. Not everyone got picked to be the princess in waiting. It required certain…traits. Traits that I used to curse due to the comments and stares I had received since I was a child.

None of that mattered though, if it meant changing my life for the better. The amount of gold I would receive for doing this would be enough to change my life, as well as my mother’s. It had only gotten harder to watch her walk out the door of our hovel of a home every morning, attempting to make some money as a corner seamstress. So, when I saw the announcement for the need of a “princess” I had ran straight to the hall, ready to volunteer.

They had said it would be approximately two or three days in the tower. That was the average time it took the Knight in training to find the tower and rescue previous participants.

That had been thirteen days ago.

My stores were running short, and the water was dangerously low. The only thing they had provided for entertainment was some sort of needle work. I suppose if they were paying us to be the princess trapped in the tower, we were expected to behave like one. The first two days I had glared at the needle work, promising myself that I wouldn’t touch it. I was smart and capable and did not need to resort to simpering needlework like an actual princess to stay entertained.

On the fifth day I had given in. After stabbing myself countless times and failing miserably for over an hour, I had thrown the stupid thing across the room, curses flying from my lips as the yarn sailed through the air. Maybe I didn’t give those princesses enough credit.

So here I sat, my eyes staring off into the unknown, the needlework mocking me from the corner I had thrown it in. It was day thirteen. As far as I knew, no one had been left in the tower for this length of time. What kind of Knight did I get where I have been left in this ridiculous tower for thirteen days? Was he still trying to find me? Had he given up?

Questions trickled through my mind like sand through an hourglass. Questions I would possibly never have the answer to. They would go unanswered, and I would be left to die and waste away in this tower.

There was one part of the paperwork I had read and memorized like my life had depended on it, mostly because it does in a way.

At no time is the participant to leave the tower on their own. They are to wait in the tower for their Knight to arrive for them. Failing to do so will result in all manners of payment to be considered null and void.

If I wanted my money and change of reputation, I had to stay in this tower until this idiot for a Knight showed up and rescued me. I sent silent prayers to the real princess that got him for a husband. She would have to manage him and the entire estate at this rate. He can’t find his way out of a paperback it seems.

Standing up, I stretch, earning several cracks from my back. Sitting on stone all day just can’t be good for my body. I gave the bed they provided a heavy side eye. They could have at least given us a decent bed, not something made out of straw.

I began to pace the small room, my anger at this entire situation only growing. The worst part? The only person who I could actually be mad at is myself. I supposed I could blame the Knight in some ways, but there was a reason he was a Knight in training. They had no idea what they were doing. It was the entire purpose of the program. I had been the idiot to sign up for the program. My desire for money and a change in life had practically shoved me through the doors of the Knights Hall.

Now it seemed like I would most likely die in this tower. The boredom would be the thing to kill me. I rolled my eyes at my own dramatic thoughts. I knew it wouldn’t be the boredom. It would be dehydration or starving. How very pleasant.

I stopped my pacing and glanced towards the lone window in the room. I mean, if things get really bad…no. Absolutely not. Throwing myself out the window is absolutely not an option. Giving up my life for some gold coins is possibly the most absurd thought I have had since entering this tower.

I turn away to continue my pacing when something catches my eye outside the window. There appeared to be a small figure making his way over the hill I had been staring at just this morning, and every previous morning might I add. I rush over to the window, barely stopping myself from flying out of it as both of my hands braced against the sides. An excited sound leaves my throat, disbelief coursing through me.

“Hello!” I called as loudly as I could, eagerly waving my hand, fear that he wouldn’t see me and would leave. I halt my hand in mid-air. “You’re in a tower you fool.”

It didn’t matter though. Nothing else mattered at this moment. My Knight had finally arrived. It had taken quite a bit longer than expected and as he made his way closer, it made much more sense as to why. He had no horse and appeared to be limping.

I watched as he made his way to the base of the tower and entered the door at the bottom. I realized now that they also provided a mirror, and it had specific purpose. So that when your Knight arrived you didn’t look like you rolled out of a gutter, which is exactly how I looked. Moving as quickly as I could, and slightly thankful he had a limp in this moment, I rushed to the mirror. I attempted to make my hair more presentable, letting out a muffle screech at how unruly the dark red curls had gotten. It was no use.

I had pulled my hand from the final curl just as the door swung open, the sound of heavy male panting coming through the empty doorway.

I quickly turned, a smile filling my face. I eagerly waited for him to walk through, but he didn’t move. “uh…Sir? You can come in?” Maybe he needed permission. I wasn't taught how to be a proper princess. They had me sign some paperwork and then transported me to the tower. There were hardly any instructions.

Still, the Knight did not move. In fact, there was no sound coming from the darkened doorway. Gingerly, I took several steps forward, closing the space between me and the door. I moved my head side to side trying to see into the darkness. “Sir Knight? What are you waiting for?”

Still nothing. Frustration replaced my earlier gratitude. I closed the distance between me and the doorway, stepping through it in search of the Knight.

There was no one there.

I rush back into my room, searching frantically. He had been here. I had seen him. This couldn’t be happening. Reaching the stone window, I leaned out, my head swinging back and forth feverishly trying to find the Knight who had crested the hill. “No…no, no. This can’t be happening! I had seen him! The Knight had finally come for me!”

Just as I moved to come back into the room, my hand slipped and then I felt nothing. Nothing but the air whipping past my face as I dropped towards the ground. The ground was hurtling towards me, a scream leaving my mouth as I plummeted downward. This is how it would end. A damn hallucination would be the end of my story. The ground was so close now, I closed my eyes in anticipation.

My eyes flew open, a scream on my lips as I sat up in my bed. A dream. It had all been a dream. I glanced around the room, my eyes finding the needlework still in the corner I had left it in. Pots and pans littered the countertops and the sink. I was still in the tower.

I was still waiting on the damn Knight to rescue me.